'Tired of hearing that I cannot celebrate my beliefs…'

Editor:

I am writing in response to the letter published on December 6th concerning Liberty Union schools and holiday music. First, let me clarify that this is not an attack on the school system; it is my belief that the only reason our school had to change the Christmas Concert to a Holiday Concert is for fear of being sued by the ACLU or other similar organization.

With that being said, I for one, am tired of hearing that I cannot celebrate my beliefs for fear of offending people of other religions. Christmas is not just a holiday to me; it is much more than that. I celebrate Christmas because of the birth of Jesus Christ and its importance to the foundation of my beliefs. I would never, ever celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Las Posadas.

Similarly, I also would never, ever deny those religions the right to call their celebration by its rightful name or tell its believers that they could not stand in front of me and sing songs that are important to their beliefs. I am tired of people labeling Christians as "not understanding," as the previous contributor suggests. Christians are one of the most tolerant religions in existence. Practicing love, forgiveness, and generosity are at the core of Christian values and morals. In fact, this very issue is the perfect example of Christian tolerance. Christians are the believers forced to stop calling their holiday by its rightful name, due to the lack of tolerance of people of other faiths to refer to something as a "Christmas Concert."

Perhaps we should do as the previous writer suggests and all Christians should send their children to private schools. I wonder what our public education system would amount to then?!

I do agree that the school curriculum should include cultural education. I encourage my child to learn about and appreciate the differences of the world around her. But if we are teaching the appreciation of all societies, cultures and beliefs that make up our world, then why don't we practice that philosophy in everyday life? Instead, we are punishing my daughter and children like her by taking away the core values on which their world is founded simply because they are in the majority and therefore not worthy of the cultural inclusion that is at the heart of this issue.
Merry Christmas!
Janet Price
Baltimore